Chapter 75: Naruto vs Gaara
The referee raised his hand and shouted loudly:
"Ready… Begin!"
On the high viewing platform, Sakura had just arrived. She looked toward the arena and sighed softly.
"So the third match is finally his. I wonder who his opponent will be… Whoever it is, it probably won't be easy."
Soon after the announcement, the fighters stepped into the arena.
Naruto's opponent turned out to be Gaara.
For a moment, Sakura didn't recognize him. But when she looked again, her eyes suddenly widened.
"Wait… his opponent is Gaara?!"
Earlier, the previous contestant hadn't been Gaara, so she didn't recognize him at first. But now she was certain—the person standing across from Naruto was indeed Gaara, the same arrogant guy she had encountered before.
Sakura suddenly jumped to her feet and waved her hands excitedly.
"Come on, Naruto! Show him what you've got!"
She had never liked Gaara's arrogant attitude. From the first time she met him, his prideful behavior had annoyed her.
Now that Naruto was facing him, she couldn't help shouting:
"Teach him a lesson!"
Hearing her voice, Naruto turned toward the stands and grinned confidently.
"Don't worry, Sakura! I'll get revenge for you!"
He raised his thumb with a confident smile.
"Wooo!"
"Nice!"
"Go for it!"
The crowd suddenly erupted with cheers.
Most of the spectators didn't even know the story between them, but the atmosphere of the arena made everyone shout with excitement.
Some people even started cheering for Gaara just for fun.
However, Gaara paid no attention to them. He simply glanced coldly at the noisy crowd.
"A bunch of fools," he said quietly.
Those who met his cold gaze suddenly felt a chill and stopped talking.
On the highest viewing platform, an old observer watched the scene carefully.
He asked the person beside him:
"That young man they're talking about… is he Naruto?"
The man next to him smiled.
"Yes. He's one of the three promising young fighters."
The old man nodded thoughtfully.
"I see… but it seems his luck isn't very good today."
After a pause he added,
"Still, that boy seems quite capable."
Meanwhile, Gaara stood silently in the arena. But inside his mind he thought coldly:
"Just another failed experiment."
"If this plan doesn't produce results, then everything I've done will be meaningless."
"Enough talking! The match is about to begin!"
The referee stepped forward and announced loudly:
"The third match: Naruto versus Gaara… starts now!"
"Fight!"
The moment the referee finished speaking, Naruto rushed forward.
Sand suddenly surged across the ground like a wave and rushed toward Gaara.
Naruto smirked slightly.
"Not bad."
But Gaara didn't move. He simply stood there calmly.
When the sand attack reached him, he lightly jumped several meters backward, easily avoiding it.
Naruto immediately chased after him.
But although Naruto was fast, Gaara's sand moved even faster.
When the distance between them was about three meters, several sand walls suddenly rose from the ground, blocking Naruto's path.
Naruto frowned.
"Let's see how strong this sand is."
He threw a powerful punch at the sand wall.
Boom!
A hole instantly appeared in the barrier.
"So it's not that strong after all," Naruto said.
However, just after testing it, he quickly stepped back.
Gaara did not let him escape so easily.
With a simple wave of his hand—
Dozens of sand bullets suddenly shot toward Naruto like machine-gun fire.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The arena filled with the sound of flying sand.
The audience gasped in surprise.
"Wow!"
But Naruto didn't panic.
Instead, he calmly watched the incoming attacks.
Just as the sand bullets reached him—
He began dodging them with strange movements.
Sometimes he leaned sideways.
Sometimes he twisted his body.
Sometimes he bent down or jumped lightly.
Each sand bullet passed right beside him without touching him.
"Wooo!"
"Incredible!"
The audience burst into loud cheers.
Seeing Naruto dodge every attack so skillfully made the crowd even more excited.
Sakura stared nervously.
"Naruto really is…"
She knew he was strong enough to avoid those attacks, but she still couldn't help worrying.
"If he can end the fight quickly… why is he playing around like this?"
Nearby, Goku scratched his head in confusion.
"What is that guy doing?"
"He could defeat his opponent quickly, but instead he's wasting time with all these flashy moves."
In the arena, Gaara's eyes twitched slightly as he watched Naruto continue dodging every attack.
A deep sense of humiliation rose inside him.
Naruto's movements almost seemed like silent mockery—
As if he were saying:
"With attacks like that… you can't even touch me."